The Rain Watcher

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay    240 pages

Most readers will recognize de Rosnay as the author behind “Sarah’s Key,” which ranks right up with “Rebecca” as haunting stories that stick with readers for years after they were first read. The four novels that came after “Sarah’s Key,” never afforded de Rosany the same success. Now  four years after her last novel, that bestselling success is so close, yet so far away.

Set in contemporary times, “The Rain Watcher” takes place in Paris. The Malegarde family has come together to celebrate parents’ Lauren and Paul’s fortieth wedding anniversary as well as Paul’s seventieth birthday.  Lauren is an American by birth, Paul is French, They have two children, Tilia who is caught up in an unhappy marriage and resides in France. Linden is an internationally known photographer and calls San Francisco home.

It’s been raining in Paris for weeks and the Seine is rapidly rising. The waters are expected to rising well above the historic flooding of 1910. As the Seine rises, so does the tension. Each of the four characters has secrets they are hiding. The family, already partially estranged, is at a breaking point. When illnesses strike, the family must learn to let go. It’s a hard lesson for those involved.

Most of the writing was beautiful. De Rosany did a wonderful job in describing the flood waters and the rain. Every time they were mentioned, virtually on every page, a new image seemed to present itself.  Kudos for that.

On the down side, de Rosnay provides readers with an agonizing detail of the Paris streets and androissments. It would have help had there been a map on the inside front and back covers. I felt lost when she began naming streets and neighborhoods that I had no concept of location. I don’t believe that de Rosnay writing for an international audience…or at least am American one. The overload of French words also got in the way.

Still the beauty of the writing, sans the above problems, help me give “The Rain Watcher” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I wanted so bad for this to be a novel that would capture my soul the way “Sarah’s Key” did, but---heavy sigh---it just didn’t happen.